In music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, sounds, or entire bars of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using hardware (samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations.

A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with musique concrète, experimental music created by splicing and looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played back sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term sampling was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, an influential sampling synthesizer. Initially, samplers were unaffordable for most musicians and could only play back short sounds; as technology improved, cheaper samplers with more memory emerged, such as the E-mu Emulator, Akai S950, and Akai MPC.

Precursors

The Phonogene, a 1940s instrument which plays back sounds from tape loops

In the 1940s, French composer Pierre Schaeffer developed musique concrète, an experimental form of music created by recording sounds to tape, splicing them, and manipulating them to create sound collages. He used sounds from sources such as the human body, locomotives, and kitchen utensils.[1] The method also involved tape loops, splicing lengths of tape end to end so a sound could be played indefinitely.[1] Schaeffer developed the Phonogene, which played loops at twelve different pitches triggered by a keyboard.[1]

Samplers

The Fairlight CMI, a sampler and synthesizer released in 1979. The designers coined the term sampling to describe its features

The Guardian described the Chamberlin as the first sampler, developed by the English engineer Harry Chamberlin in the 1940s. The Chamberlin used a keyboard to trigger a series of tape decks, each containing eight seconds of recorded sound. Similar technology was popularised in the 60s with the Mellotron.[5] In 1969, the English engineer Peter Zinovieff developed the first digital sampler, the EMS Musys.[5]

The term sample was coined by in the late 1970s by Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel to describe a feature of their Fairlight CMI synthesizer, launched in 1979.[1] While developing the Fairlight, Vogel recorded around a second of a piano piece from a radio broadcast, and discovered that he could imitate a piano by playing the recording back at different pitches. He recalled in 2005:

It sounded remarkably like a piano, a real piano. This had never been done before ... By today's standards it was a pretty awful piano sound, but at the time it was a million times more like a piano than anything any synthesiser had churned out. So I rapidly realised that we didn't have to bother with all the synthesis stuff. Just take the sounds, whack them in the memory and away you go.[6]

The Fairlight developers used the term sampler to describe the technical process of the instrument, rather than how users would use the feature.[7] Compared to later samplers, the Fairlight offered limited control over samples; it allowed control over pitch and envelope, and could only record a few seconds of sound. However, the sampling function became its most popular feature.[1] Though the concept of reusing recordings in larger recordings was not new, the Fairlight's built-in sequencer and design made the process simple.[1]

The Fairlight inspired competition, improving sampling technology and driving down prices.[1] Early competitors included the E-mu Emulator[1] and the Akai S950.[8]Drum machines such as the Oberheim DMX and Linn LM-1 incorporated samples of drum kits and percussion rather than generating sounds from circuits.[9] Early samplers could store samples of only a few seconds in length, but this increased with improved memory.[7]

Impact

Sampling has influenced all genres of music.[5] It is a particularly important part of pop, hip hop, and electronic music,[14] equivalent to the importance of the guitar in rock.[5] It is a fundamental element of remix culture.[15] Commonly sampled elements include strings, basslines, drum loops, vocal hooks, or entire bars of music, especially from soul records.[16] Samples may be layered,[17]equalized,[17] sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated.[14] As sampling technology has improved, the possibilities for manipulation have grown.[14]

The Akai MPC, released in 1988, had a major influence on the development of electronic and hip hop music,[18][11] allowing artists to create elaborate tracks without other instruments, a studio, or formal music knowledge.[19] Its designers anticipated that users would sample short sounds, such as individual notes or drum hits, to use as building blocks for compositions. However, users began sampling longer passages of music.[7] In the words of Greg Milner, author of Perfecting Sound Forever, musicians "didn't just want the sound of John Bonham's kick drum, they wanted to loop and repeat the whole of 'When the Levee Breaks'."[7]Roger Linn, designer of the MPC, said: "It was a very pleasant surprise. After 60 years of recording, there are so many prerecorded examples to sample from. Why reinvent the wheel?"[7]

Hip hop

Sampling is the foundation of hip hop, which emerged in the 1980s.[28] The sampling culture of hip hop has been likened to the origins of blues and rock, which were created by repurposing existing music.[15]Guardian journalist David McNamee wrote that, in the 1980s, sampling in hip hop had been a political act: "Two record decks and your dad's old funk collection was once the working-class black answer to punk."[13]

Legal and ethical issues

To legally use a sample, an artist must acquire legal permission from the copyright holder, a potentially lengthy and complex process known as clearance.[16] Sampling without permission can breach the copyright of the original sound recording, of the composition and lyrics, and of the performances, such as a rhythm or guitar riff. The moral rights of the original artist may also be breached if they are not credited or object to the sampling.[16] In some cases, sampling is protected under American fair use laws,[16] which grant "limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holder".[38]

In 1991, songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan sued rapper Biz Markie after he sampled O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" on the album I Need a Haircut. The court ruled that sampling without permission infringed copyright. Instead of asking for royalties, O'Sullivan forced Biz Markie's label Warner Bros to recall the album until the song was removed.[40]Nelson George described it as the "most damaging example of anti-hip hop vindictiveness", which "sent a chill through the industry that is still felt".[40] The Washington Post wrote in 2018 that "no court decision has changed the sound of pop music as much as this", likening it to banning a musical instrument.[41]

Since the O'Sullivan lawsuit, samples on commercial recordings have typically been taken either from obscure recordings or cleared, an often expensive option only available to successful acts.[41] According to the Guardian, "Sampling became risky business and a rich man's game, with record labels regularly checking if their musical property had been tea-leafed."[13] For less successful artists, the legal implications of using samples pose obstacles; according to Fact, "For a bedroom producer, clearing a sample can be nearly impossible, both financially and in terms of administration."[14]

The 1989 Beastie Boys album Paul's Boutique is composed almost entirely of samples, most of which were cleared "easily and affordably"; the clearance process would be much more expensive today.[42] In 2000, jazz flautist James Newton filed a claim against the Beastie Boys' 1992 single "Pass the Mic", which samples his composition "Choir". The judge found that the sample, comprising six seconds and three notes, was de minimis and did not require clearance. Newton lost appeals in 2003 and 2004.[43]

According to Fact, early hip hop sampling was governed by "unspoken" rules forbidding the sampling of recent records, reissues, other hip hop records, or from non-vinyl sources, among other restrictions.[28] These rules were relaxed as younger producers took over: "For many producers today it is no longer a case of 'should I sample this?' but of 'can I get away with sampling this?'. Thus the ethics of sampling unravelled as the practice became ever more ubiquitous."[28]

To circumvent legal problems, producers may recreate a recording rather than sample it. This requires only the publisher's permission, and gives the artist more freedom to alter constituent components such as separate guitar and drum tracks.[45]

Further reading

Katz, Mark. "Music in 1s and 0s: The Art and Politics of Digital Sampling." In Capturing Sound: How Technology has Changed Music (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 137-57. ISBN0-520-24380-3